Ride Report & A Problem

Audax 65 Mile Tune Up:  Challenges

Sunday was the last of this year’s Audax Tune Up Rides.  I’m a little puzzled.  The group was smaller than I anticipated.  Only seven of us.  Still, the day was excellent, and the road was waiting.

We were only just started, barely more than a mile into the ride when we had our first “incident.”  On a brisk descent two riders had a crossed wheel event, resulting in a crash.  Fortunately, the rider who went down landed in the best possible situation,  a “corkscrew fall” off of the pavement and into grass and dirt.  If one is going to hit the ground this isn’t fun, but it beats a lot of other possibilities.

I must say, I’m proud.  A black eye, and a fat lip don’t make for a happy start to a day, but the rider in question decided to press on, and made a good ride of it, completing the day in fine style.

Traffic is always an issue near our start.  Yesterday was no exception.  Still, we handled it well, and by the time we got out of Palmetto and into a more rural setting, things were a lot calmer and better.

Good riding and good times prevailed, until…  At almost the exact midpoint of the route we had another “event.”  One rider hit something in the road.  In all my years of riding, I have never seen a bike tire so completely damaged.  Whatever the object was, it took a bite out of the tire.  A big bite.  We attempted a repair, but it didn’t hold.  With a round hole of more than an inch diameter, I didn’t think it would.

Fortunately our rider was able to call for a ride, but sadly had to abandon.

Thankfully, we had no further incidents, and the afternoon was simply one of good riding, against the challenge of long climbs and brisk winds.  A good and happy group rolled into Peachtree City, in good order.

I should mention that we had one rider who set a personal record for distance, and one rider who equaled a recently set record.  Neat!!

Watch this space for details about the upcoming Audax 200K.  It should be a great one!

New Route Needed:

My regular Novice Road Ride route is in trouble.  There is heavy construction at the intersection of Bernhard Rd, and GA-85.  I have not been able to determine how long the project will last, or what the ultimate goal of it is.  But for now the conditions at this site range from difficult and extremely dangerous, to impossible.

The Novice Road Rides are scheduled to resume on 26 April.  New routing is going to be necessary.

I’m considering the following:

• Develop a “re-route” and get it painted in time for the Novice Rides
• Alter the route to make it a somewhat abbreviated “out and back.”
• Truncate the route to a much shorter distance and concentrate on only the new riders.

All of these ideas have difficulties.  I’m open to suggestions, and would welcome any advice in route alterations.  My criteria are as follows.

• Safety First
• Routing must be “New Rider Friendly”
• Routing must avoid the construction at the intersection of Bernhard GA-85.